![\"Gugler's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/whatsapp-image-2025-11-21-at-15.32.14_e1d52e71.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA European golfer has been suspended for five months on the HotelPlanner Tour after a “reckless infringement of the rules of golf”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Switzerland’s Cedric Gugler was disqualified after the first round of the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old signed for a four-over 75 but was later booted out of the \u20ac300,000 tournament.<\/p>\n
Rules officials determined he played his ball from the wrong spot on multiple occasions on the greens at Kaskada Golf Resort.<\/p>\n
The rules breach was reported by his playing partners. He played alongside Spain’s Adri Arnaus and Italy’s Aaron Zemer on 12 June.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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An independent disciplinary panel, led by Philip Evans KC, determined that Gugler’s conduct was a “serious breach of the Tour’s code of behaviour by virtue of a reckless infringement of the rules of golf”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a result, the golfer has been suspended for the first 10 events of the HotelPlanner Tour’s 2026 season.<\/p>\n
The ban rules him out of action for five months. The season begins at the SDC Open in South Africa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A European Tour spokesperson confirmed that his suspension will begin on 29 January 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“He will be permitted to return after the first 10 events have concluded, a date which will be determined once the 2026 HotelPlanner Tour schedule has been finalised and announced,” the spokesperson added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Cedric Gugler responds to five-month man\u00a0<\/p>\n
GolfMagic contacted Gugler for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hours after the news broke, the golfer gave his version of events on his personal Instagram page.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gugler wrote that he regretted the mishap and accepted the ban.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said: “As some of you may have heard, I have been suspended by the European Tour for the first ten Hotel Planner Tour tournaments of the upcoming season.<\/p>\n
“As an athlete who has played golf since the age of six, and for whom fairness, respect, and sportsmanship have always been top priorities, this is of course a very difficult moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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“I have been accused of not marking or replacing my ball correctly on the green during the first round of the Kask\u00e1da Golf Challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This is what my playing partners reported to the tournament officials after the round.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“My mistake was that, during the initial hearing in the tournament office on the same evening, I somewhat carelessly admitted that it might have been possible \u2013 out of simple inattentiveness \u2013 that the ball was not placed back exactly on the same spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“However, it was never my intention to gain any sort of advantage.<\/p>\n
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Gugler’s statement he posted on his Instagram page<\/p>\n
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“Unfortunately, this imprecise statement triggered a long and burdensome process, which has now resulted in this decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I deeply regret this mishap. I accept the decision, and I will use it as motivation to be even more careful in the future \u2013 especially when marking and replacing my ball on the greens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Thank you all for your support during this difficult time. Yours, Cedi.”<\/p>\n
The HotelPlanner Tour (formerly Challenge) is the second tier in men’s European golf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many players use it as a place to earn a place on the DP World Tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The season finale, played annually in Mallorca, sees the top 20 players in the order of merit secure promotion to the global tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n